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Two Violent Attacks At Synagogue And University Leave U.S. On Edge; Sources: Trump Administration Underestimated War's Impact On Strait Of Hormuz; U.S. Temporarily Lifts Sanctions On Russian Oil Already At Sea. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired March 13, 2026 - 07:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[07:30:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Everyone though is OK, though obviously traumatized.

Here is what the FBI is also saying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER RUNYAN, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: I confirm that we are leading the investigation right now as a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And now to Virginia. The FBI is investigating a shooting at Old Dominion University as an act of terror. An ROTC instructor was killed and two other people when injured when a 36-year-old former Virginia National Guard member opened fire on a classroom. That suspect had actually served years in prison, already convicted of supporting ISIS. The FBI says he was killed at the scene when students jumped in to fight back and subdue him.

Joining me right now is CNN senior law enforcement analyst and former deputy director of the FBI, Andrew McCabe.

Listing it out, it really just seems like a day that's hard to wrap your mind around, Andy, and a couple of weeks of what we've been seeing of really troubling attacks.

Let's start in Detroit. What did and could have happened, and then the why? What do you think of the details coming out about how he smashed into the temple, it became engulfed in flames and smoke, and then security on hand really stopped him? The explosives found in the car. What do you think the most important thing is that the FBI is focused on investigating right now here?

ANDREW MCCAGE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST, FORMER DEPUTY DIRECTOR, FBI (via Webex by Cisco): Well, of course, as we typically are after these events we're very focused on what this person's motive might have been. That's, I'm sure top of mind for investigators. And the reason for that is not just to understand more about this person but really to extrapolate as to the scope of this threat.

Is this someone who may have worked with other people? Is this someone who engaged in planning or -- operational planning or training? Did he receive support from another group of people? So do we have a threat beyond this one actor?

I think another thing to really take away from this is what we see now in kind of a repeat of similar offenses or attacks in the last few months and years, this idea of the multimodal attack.

So this attacker used, of course, a vehicle to ram his way into the building and potentially kill people that he encountered with a car. He was firing some sort of weapon. We've heard possibly a rifle -- a shoulder-fired weapon while he was doing that. Then, of course, he had the explosives, which could have really set the entire building on fire and consumed everybody in it.

So it's similar to the -- to the strategies we've seen employed in the attack on the LDS church in Michigan a few months ago. We saw this on the January 1 attack in New Orleans. A very similar kind of combination of elements of destruction in one attack that makes them particularly lethal.

BOLDUAN: Andy, authorities are investigating reports that the suspect told people he had multiple family members killed in a recent Israeli airstrike in Lebanon, which leads to the question of can you and should people be drawing a direct line between the war in Iran and this attack at this point?

MCCABE: You know, Kate, the clarity of that line is going to become more consistent as we learn more facts about this person's background, and it's got to go beyond things that he might have said to people. We want to look at his online activity, his social media posts, his search history, and I'm sure that the FBI is doing that right now. We know that they've executed search warrants at his residence. They have the vehicle. They'll talk to all his family members and friends, and things like that.

I think the stronger point here for law enforcement and the community at large is there is absolutely no question that when we enter into military hostilities with another country, particularly in the Middle East, that sort of activity always elevates the threat level in this country simply because there are so many reasons that activity could motivate an attacker, whether it's religious affiliation, whether it's a political affiliation. In this case it would be potentially objections to what Israel is doing with Hezbollah.

So there's a lot of different themes here that could motivate extremists to resort to violence.

BOLDUAN: Yeah, and all of it adding up to just a very scary, unsettling moment here at home for sure.

Andy, thank you so much. I really appreciate you coming in -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, new this morning sources tell CNN both the Pentagon and National Security Council significantly underestimated Iran's willingness to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to U.S. military strikes. Sources further say that President Trump's national security team failed to fully account for the potential consequences, now calling the closure a worst-case scenario for the administration.

Let's get right to CNN's Alayna Treene at the White House this morning. So not prepared for something that the administration has been talking about for decades?

[07:35:00]

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah. Look, this is reporting from CNN's Zach Cohen, Phil Mattingly, Kevin Liptak, and Kylie Atwood, and it gets into just how problematic what is happening in the Strait of Hormuz which, of course, is one of the world's most important energy chokeholds in the country. It's responsible for 20 percent of the global crude oil that comes out of that very key waterway.

And what they're learning, our colleagues, is that essentially that while key officials from the Department of Energy and the Department of Treasury were present for a lot of these briefings -- what is typical in planning for something of this magnitude and operation -- military operation of this magnitude in the Middle East -- they said that the agency analysis and forecast that would be integral elements of the decision-making process in past administrations were secondary considerations here.

Now I think one of the key things is what the administration is actually going to do about this, John. And what we've heard from top officials and what our colleagues are hearing from their sources involved in some of the planning on this is that it could be weeks before the Trump administration's efforts to really try and alleviate the impact of what is happening in the strait can actually take effect.

We have heard many officials kind of talk about the possibility of having the U.S. Navy go in and escort some of these oil tankers and ships through the strait to make sure they're safer. But that is very high-risk and that is something that we've now heard as well from top officials, like the Energy Secretary Chris Wright, noting that it can be very dangerous to do that.

Meanwhile, we've heard from the president kind of trying to downplay some of the tumult we've seen with energy and what has been happening in the strait.

Now I do want to reference what we heard from the Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent yesterday. He was speaking with Sky News, and he said that the escorts from the U.S. Navy will begin "as soon as it is militarily possible." He said that was their planning and there is a chance that the U.S. Navy or perhaps an international coalition could ultimately escort these tankers through.

We also heard -- just speaking on this idea of preparedness and the lack thereof that our colleagues are reporting on, we did hear from the White House -- a spokeswoman, Anna Kelly. This is what she told CNN.

She said, "Through a detailed planning process, the entire administration is and was prepared for any potential action taken by the terrorist Iranian regime." She went on to say that the president "has been clear that any disruptions to energy are temporary and will result in a massive benefit to our country." That has really been the line we've heard from this White House that what is happening right now with oil is temporary.

But all to say we do know that energy executives as well are kind of trying to play it safe right now. They do not want to be sending their oil tankers through, risking lives, risking their ships at this moment. So this is a problem that is likely going to continue for a long time until the administration can figure out how to safely, you know, escort these ships and reopen the strait in a way that is safe for everyone -- John.

BERMAN: The Secretary of Energy Chris Wright told Kate yesterday they were not yet ready to escort these fuel --

TREENE: Yeah.

BERMAN: -- tankers through the strait.

We will hear from the Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and chair of the Joint Chiefs Dan Caine very shortly this morning. I am sure they will address that, whether directly or at least obliquely, because it almost definitely will come up.

Alayna Treene, thank you very much for that reporting -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: And all this getting to, again, the price of oil and where it's headed and where oil markets are headed. A new revision now coming in from Goldman Sachs updating its forecast for Brent crude oil as the war with Iran continues to disrupt global supply. The banking giant now expects oil prices to be 20 percent higher for the rest of the year.

That forecast comes as the White House took action to try and help ease the pain in a new way yesterday. The administration now announcing a temporary lifting of sanctions on Russian oil stranded at sea. The Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says that short-term waiver applies only to oil already in transit. Bessent trying to argue that it will not significantly benefit the Russian government in doing so.

As for the -- as the price of oil and oil markets continue to feel untethered, the price at the pump across the United States is also rising. The national average is now $3.63 a gallon. That's up 31 cents in a week and is a 22-month high.

Let's talk about kind of where things are and are headed. Madison Mills joining us now, a senior reporter for Axios. Thanks for coming in.

Can we just start with this new move by the administration lifting sanctions on Russian oil that's already at sea. Politico is reporting the German chancellor, just today, called that the wrong move and the wrong signal. It doesn't seem to be calming investors. Why?

MADISON MILLS, SENIOR AI REPORTER, AXIOS (via Webex by Cisco): Well, this is one of the interesting things about this administration's role with the market and the economy. In the past we've seen the administration issue these global sweeping tariffs and then when the market freaks out Trump can change his mind. And that's why investors have been able to stay sort of risk on with their investments.

[07:40:00]

But with this war, in particular, it's not just at the hands of the Trump administration. These are global leaders and their decisions are also going to impact what happens with everything from energy prices to those flows through the Strait of Hormuz which I know you talked to the secretary of energy about yesterday, Kate.

And it's interesting because of the fact that we have Germany responding in this way this morning. I had some sources telling me that was a little bit precious given the fact that Germany has continued to rely on Russian fossil fuels and also throughout Europe there was such a reliance on Russian oil heading into the Russia- Ukraine War. That was part of the challenge of putting these sanctions on in the first place.

But obviously, a really important issue to Europe, especially as the Russia-Ukraine war continues to wage on and the administration working to adjust and address gas prices as much as they can by finding ways to access that Russian oil that's already at sea with this decision here.

BOLDUAN: Brent crude settled at over $100 on Thursday, the highest it has since August of 2022. And I asked the energy secretary yesterday essentially how high he thinks it could go. And he said -- when I asked him if $200 was possible, he said it was unlikely to reach $200 a barrel. But it also seems that unlikely does not seem to be inspiring confidence.

MILLS: Yeah, and that's the other really important thing here for investors and for the broader economy. Even if there is sort of a vibe that the war may be coming to an end, that uncertainty is not going to be enough to bring down gas prices. There really needs to be clarity about the war coming to an end for those prices to go down.

And also, it's not just gas prices, right? This is going to impact everything in the economy. For the last two weeks in a row we've seen mortgage rates going up. That's going to impact the cost of owning a home. Get your airline tickets now because jet fuel, a really important part of the cost of flying. Medicine. This is -- this is really going to ripple across several parts of our economy.

BOLDUAN: It is, absolutely. And it's really -- it's settling in and it's just really also starting to set in at the same time it seems.

Madison, it's very good to see you. Thank you so much -- John.

BERMAN: With us now is CNN military analyst and retired Army lieutenant, Gen. Mark Schwartz. And CNN global affairs analyst Karim Sadjadpour.

And Karim, I'm going to start with you since you're here. We heard something a little bit interesting last night from the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from Israel suggesting that if the Iranian regime stays intact at least it will be weakened. They won't be able to do what they were able to do before, which is a slightly different tone. Maybe reduced expectations from the Israeli leader.

And yesterday we heard for the first time -- at least a paper statement --

KARIM SADJADPOUR, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST, SENIOR FELLOW, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: Um-hum.

BERMAN: -- from the new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

What is Israel -- what is the United States -- what are they learning about maybe the political resilience of the Iranian regime?

SADJADPOUR: Well, I think both Israel and the United States have realized John that changing the identity, the character of this Iranian regime, at least in the near term, is perhaps unlikely.

Mojtaba Khamenei is father's son. This is a guy who in his maiden speech, which he didn't -- he didn't deliver. It was read for him. It was no new ideas. It was vision 1979. The themes were resistance and revenge.

And the identity of this Iranian regime is going to remain premised on hostility towards Israel and America as long as they're in power. And for now the regime is closed ranks.

BERMAN: And he very specifically talked about the closure in the Strait of Hormuz right now. You can see on this map, General, the 16 -- at least -- vessels that have been hit over the last two weeks of this conflict. It might very well be more over the last few hours. You can just see some in here. Some of the situations where these vessels have been on fire.

Right here we can look at the traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. You can see this 20-mile stretch where there's a two-mile shipping lane. Nothing passing through.

General, the reporting is that somehow the administration -- the National Security Council and the Pentagon -- maybe underestimated what Iran was willing to do in the strait.

How could that be when I know that a strait closure has been near doctrine in the U.S. for decades?

LT. GEN. MARK SCHWARTZ (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST, FORMER U.S. SECURITY COORDINATOR FOR ISAREL AND THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY (via Webex by Cisco): John, I was very surprised by those -- you know, that reporting as well.

In my experience -- and I spent, you know, a couple of decades working in the Central Command area of responsibility to include being part of, you know, the development and the review of the concepts of operations to address the threats that Iran poses to the region and specifically the strait. So I believe that CENTCOM certainly had this as a potential response option based on, you know, offense of operations into Iran.

[07:45:00]

So now, the fact that potentially all the capability to start clearing the strait to allow freedom of navigation -- and we may have to have additional capabilities built up to include somewhere what we had with Prosperity Guardian to rely on our coalition partners in the Gulf states and our allies from NATO to assist, that may be forthcoming.

BERMAN: Yeah. How do you do it though, General? I mean, how do you open the strait? You know, let ships get through with 20 percent of the world's oil. I know it was done in the '80s but there weren't drones in the '80s.

SCHWARTZ: Correct, there weren't drones in the '80s. But there were also not this series of capabilities that we have to address mines in the strait, and that's just one way in which, you know, Iran can attack our ships. And we've seen drones attacking so there's still I think an un-estimated -- there's probably an estimated number but an understanding of the amount of drones and the -- also, you know, the missiles that -- the shore-to-ship missiles that Iran has.

So there's a series of capabilities that Iran still possesses that have to be addressed either by aerial bombardments, you know, along the coast of Iran by the strait as well as deploying capabilities inside of the Gulf there to find and being able to detect and ultimately eliminate the mines once they're detected to keep shipping safe.

BERMAN: Karim, what bets is the Iranian regime making about the political will of the United States when it comes to gas prices -- but also sort of the political will of these Gulf allies of the United States, to an extent, who are suffering economically with the strait closure?

SADJADPOUR: You know, John, there's really two kinds of countries in the Persian Gulf. You have Iran, an ancient nation but ruled by a modern dictatorship. And then you have these smaller countries -- the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia. And I say Iran is in the business of destruction. Those countries are in the business of building. And building things takes many decades; destroying things takes weeks.

And I think Iran is really -- their ally that they're trying to summon is American public opinion because they want the spike in oil prices. People's gasoline prices going up. Explosions happening throughout the Persian Gulf. People watching their televisions. They're hoping American public opinion is going to restrain President Trump's ambitions and force him to end the war abruptly.

BERMAN: Yeah, we will see how long that lasts. Gas prices right now hovering around $93 a barrel. A little bit down since sanctions lifted on that Russian oil. We'll see where it goes the rest of the day.

Karim, General, thank you both very much -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: A very different story. Ahead, a man seen grabbing flamingos at the Las Vegas Flamingo. What we are now learning about this avian abduction.

Plus, the wildly popular David bar is being sued for essentially deceiving customers. Allegations now that the company undercounted calories.

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[07:52:00]

BOLDUAN: Two terror attacks carried out on the same day in two different states in America, understandably leaving those communities and the entire country on edge.

In Virginia, the FBI is investigating a shooting at Old Dominion University as an act of terror. Police say the gunman has been identified as a 36-year-old former Virginia National Guard -- Guards member. Investigators say he opened fire in a classroom yesterday killing one person before a group of ROTC students jumped in and fought back. According to the FBI the man had actually already spent years in prison, convicted of supporting ISIS.

Hours later in Michigan, a man drove a vehicle straight into a synagogue with investigators saying he had a rifle and explosives -- a large amount of explosives -- in the vehicle. He was clearly targeting the Jewish community. The Department of Homeland Security identified the suspect as a 41-year-old naturalized citizen -- U.S. citizen born in Lebanon. He came to the United States in 2011.

Joining me right now is Congressman Brad Schneider, a Democrat from Illinois on the Foreign Affairs Committee.

The Michigan attorney general -- thanks for being here, sorry.

REP. BRAD SCHNEIDER (D-IL): (INAUDIBLE).

BOLDUAN: The Michigan attorney general said yesterday she sees a clear nexus between the Iran war and what happened in the Temple Israel in that suburban Detroit synagogue, adding that it's no coincidence the suspect targeted a synagogue named Temple Israel.

What do you see in this? I mean, should Jews in your district -- your entire community should -- are you concerned for them right now?

SCHNEIDER: Absolutely, and Jewish communities have been on edge from the --

BOLDUAN: For a long time.

SCHNEIDER: The attorney general a little bit. I see a direct connection to the rising antisemitism we've seen -- we've been seeing in the United States and around the world and the rhetoric calling out Jews, isolating Jews.

I spoke with a group of Jewish students in Chicago earlier this week who were meeting in a coffee shop when a group of people came in and chased -- literally chased them out of the coffee shop.

This is something that has been building. This is the fourth attack on a synagogue, I think, in North America in this month. And it's rhetoric -- words lead to actions and the community is on edge.

Thankfully, you saw in --

BOLDUAN: Yeah.

SCHNEIDER: -- this situation the security was prepared and acted swiftly and saved the lives of 150 -- these are preschool age children is who he was targeting.

BOLDUAN: Yeah, these are babies.

SCHNEIDER: Yes.

BOLDUAN: These are babies and staff, and students, and it's just terrifying to see what it could have been. And thank God that they -- the security was there. But that they had to have so much security is a statement in and of itself about Jews in America -- what Jewish people in America are living with.

SCHNEIDER: Just to be clear, we've had security in synagogues for decades --

BOLDUAN: Yeah.

SCHNEIDER: -- and usually it was around high holidays. Now it's 24/7. And the threats -- synagogues are getting bomb threats called into them. Thankfully, those have not been real. What we saw yesterday was very real. Someone with the intent to kill as many people as he could as quickly as he could.

BOLDUAN: I do want to ask you about the latest that's going on with the war in Iran. Barak Ravid of Axios is reporting that in a call with G7 leaders this week, President Trump said in his view Iran was "about to surrender." This is coming from three officials from G7 countries who were briefed on what happened in this call.

[07:55:05]

So it seems that the president is as confident in private calls as he is in public about the direction of this war.

Do you see indications of that?

SCHNEIDER: Absolutely not. I think the president -- this is one of our challenges. The president lives in his own bubble that facts really have no bearing on the decisions he's making or the assessments of the future he sees. We look at an Iran that is increasingly aggressive in targeting our

allies in the region. Targeting infrastructure -- energy infrastructure, closing the Straits of Hormuz, and threatening to continue to do more and more and more.

And so I wish this administration had prepared the country for what they were about to do. I wish they had planned to do what they are doing considering they didn't anticipate the Straits of Hormuz and they didn't fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in advance of this.

So many things indicate that there was a lack of planning, a lack of preparedness and that this administration just rushed into war without considering the implications, impacts, or an end game of how to get out.

BOLDUAN: We are awaiting -- at the top of the hour we're going to have a briefing from the Pentagon, hearing from Hegseth and probably -- and probably the Joint Chiefs chairman once again.

You have called on Pete Hegseth to resign or be fired. You have before. You think this time -- this time is now different. Why?

SCHNEIDER: Well, I think we're seeing so much of what Hegseth has done leading up to this war. Start with the tweets or the Signal chat he did --

BOLDUAN: Um-hum.

SCHNEIDER: -- early in last year. What are we seeing now? A lack of preparedness.

The strike on the school was because they were using old maps. These weren't strikes late in this war where you had the fog of war. This was a failure to prepare and make sure that the details you have and the maps you were using are the most current and up-to-date maps.

The failure to anticipate Iran striking our neighbors -- or its neighbors in the Gulf. The failure to anticipate the closing of the Straits of Hormuz.

So many things just show a lack of foresight. A lack of thinking how do we develop an action plan that puts us in the best shape to achieve our goals, which haven't been clearly defined, to execute the war plans, and ultimately to get out of this war and make the whole world more safe.

BOLDUAN: In an interview that's set -- it's set to release today, the president has -- was asked about the dangers facing ships in the strait, and he told Fox News that the tankers should go through the Strait of Hormuz and show some guts. "There's nothing to be afraid of. They have no Navy (meaning Iran) and we sunk all their ships."

SCHNEIDER: And so I --

BOLDUAN: I -- what do you do with that; I guess is my question. SCHNEIDER: Nothing because it doesn't reflect the reality of what's going on in the Gulf. And it's a failure to understand what the risks are. Really, it's a failure to understand how the world works. So he just wants to will the future and say just go through everything and we'll be fine.

BOLDUAN: What does it mean though for how -- for an actual endgame? Like, if that's the message, what -- I'm not -- I'm not ready to send in my Navy in order to escort you through safely -- we heard that very clearly from multiple people -- but we just think you should show some guts and go through.

Like, what do you see and do you see what the actual endgame or off- ramp could be here for the administration?

SCHNEIDER: No. The administration has never explained that endgame and that's why we're kind of in this place. What we're seeing are allies turning away from the United States as an unreliable partner looking to find their own path to secure their oil supplies and to address natural gas.

We could end up in a situation where Russia is stronger. The administration just lifted sanctions on Russian oil on the water.

BOLDUAN: They say that it's not going to -- it's not going to benefit Russia. You say?

SCHNEIDER: It will benefit Russia. China is benefiting. Russia is benefiting. The Iran -- the Iranian regime is still in place with no evidence that it's about to fall. And the administration still hasn't presented Congress or the American people a clear plan of where it's going and how we achieve our goals.

BOLDUAN: We will hear from the Pentagon, once again, at the top of this hour -- next hour.

Thank you for coming in, Congressman.

SCHNEIDER: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: I appreciate your time. Thank you for being here -- John.

BERMAN: All right, new video this morning of an SUV going airborne, crashing into scaffolding. You see it right there -- just outside a restaurant. It happened in White Plains, New York. It narrowly missed -- you can see the people who are on the street just outside that restaurant. Police say the 80-year-old driver is in stable condition.

A new class action lawsuit against the protein bar company David alleging the 150-calorie labels on the bars are way off, violating FDA rules. The company says the math is right and they are ready to fight it all in court.

In Las Vegas, a Canadian tourist is accused of hopping in a fence -- hopping a fence at the Flamingo hotel's wildlife habitat and walking off with a flamingo. Officers say he left two birds badly hurt and carried one through the hotel. He told officers he took the flamingo back to his room to "pop its wing back into place."

A brand new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

BOLDUAN: All right. So the breaking news we're watching and standing by for this hour, a briefing at the Pentagon on the latest and an update on the war with Iran. Likely top of mind at this briefing, CENTCOM has now just confirmed that four crew members were killed when a U.S. military refueling aircraft crashed in Iraq.